


Secret Ties

by KaileyScriven



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adult Content, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, BDSM, BDSM Scene, Bisexuality, Bondage, Cock & Ball Torture, Dirty Talk, Dom/sub, Erotica, F/M, Genital Piercing, Impact Play, Interracial Relationship, Kink, Kinky, Light Angst, Masturbation, Nipple Piercings, Nipple Play, Original Fiction, POV First Person, Pegging, Piercings, Pining, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Power Play, Praise Kink, S&M, Shibari, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Suspension, Switching, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Voyeurism, Watching
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:22:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28494561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaileyScriven/pseuds/KaileyScriven
Summary: Erin Laguardia is sick of life. The last time she felt truly happy was two years ago, in college, where she was able to study art. Now she's in debt and an assistant manager at Home Depot, desperate to relive better days.Tenshi Nikaido is comfortable, but incomplete. He feels like a tiger in a cage, pacing, waiting for a change. People think he has everything figured out; truth is, he can't even decide where he belongs.When they find each other, they find what each was missing - understanding, inspiration, excitement. Escape. As they dig deeper into the world of BDSM, they fall deeper into each other. Their unique relationship relies on balancing intimacy and eroticism - but scales tend to tip.Can we bare our hearts and still keep them?Secret Ties is a novel-length story in three parts that explores themes such as trust, love vs. lust, and recognition of the self through the other. ST pairs compelling and fleshed-out characters with sensual, steamy, and technically accurate kink for a rare final product that immerses you fully into the story.This work explicitly portrays consensual kinky sexual acts including sadomasochism. All such acts are handled safely, ethically, and accurately.
Relationships: Erin Laguardia/Tenshi Nikaido, Original Character & Original Character, Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Tenshi Nikaido/Erin Laguardia





	Secret Ties

**Part One: Magnetism**

I looked at my watch: 12:24 am. My head was pounding with a migraine induced by bad music, brain-damaging bass, and stress. This far away from the hole-in-the-wall venue, it was finally silent, but I could still feel the reverb in the soles of my feet. It was uncomfortably dark; the street lights flickered. I was hoping to be in bed by 1, but it looked like that wasn’t gonna happen. 

“How’d you like it?” Lexie asked, buzzing around me. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that her favorite band sucked absolute ass, so I focused on walking to her car. 

“Well, I would’ve liked it better if I hadn’t gotten baptized in 40 ounces of unidentifiable brown drink.”

“It’s on you for wearing a white shirt to a mosh pit, Erin.” She was already nicely tipsy from the single beer she’d had, and I was currently regretting my promise to be the designated driver. This might all have been a little more palatable with some alcohol in my system.

“It wasn’t supposed to  _ be  _ a mosh pit,” I said through gritted teeth. “You said it had  _ seats _ . And excuse me if I am unhappy about the only shirt I brought being trashed, or the fact that I smell like a fly’s wet dream.” 

“I’d let you borrow a shirt of mine, but…” she trailed off, trying and failing to be sensitive to the fact that I wore an extra-large and she wore a small. “Anyway, I see you didn’t have a good time, and that’s no fuuunn!” Her voice went whiny. “I’ll make it up to you. Elijah just texted and said there’s kind of an afterparty at his friend’s place.”

I sighed heavily.

“Right, Elijah, you know how much I like him,” I deadpanned, fishing for her keys in my purse. 

“I know he’s a fuckboy, and some of his friends are fuckboys, but some of them run in cool circles, and by the time you get to friends-of-friends you actually get some really fun people. Some art majors?” She stopped walking, looking at me coyly.

“Okay, Lex, who do you want to set me up with?”

She broke out in a grin, pointing a finger at me.

“Always perceptive.”

I side-eyed her, finally pulling out the keys.

“It’s not hard when you’re so obvious. Who?”

She looped her arm into mine as I spotted her car a couple blocks ahead.

“I don’t know his name, but he’s totally your type! I think he’s pretty cute, but you’d eat him with a spoon. He does installation art and, like, idk, graffiti shit.”

“You just said idk out loud.”

“Just say you’ll come.”

“You mean ‘just say you’ll drive me’,” I rolled my eyes. “He sounds like he’s a soundcloud rapper, but hey, I’m hardly a catch myself.”

Lexie looked at me sadly, batting her eyelashes in a bid to make me feel better.

“Babe, I know you haven’t been able to do art as a job, but… you’re still talented. And fun, mayyyybe, if you don’t act like a stick in the mud and swerve on the party.” 

I shook my head in response, ready to crash on her couch and get the night over with.

"Then I guess I'm no fun."

She stopped suddenly, separating herself from me. 

“You’re 24 now, Erin. But you're not  old . I know leaving college sucked for you, but come on. Loosen up.”

I looked straight at her, stone-faced. Neither of us said anything more.

The car chirped brightly as I unlocked it. I opened the passenger side for her before practically throwing her in. She got in the seat properly, and I leaned into her space. 

“This is your chance to redeem yourself. That means,” I threw her a glare, “behave.” I shut the door, walking around to the driver’s side.

“I work at a Home Depot,” I muttered disgustedly before getting in the car.

-

“You have arrived at your destination.” 

I shut off the GPS as we idled outside of a run-down brick building. Lexie had been quiet on the drive, which was unlike her, but I wasn’t about to forget how inconsiderate she’d been all night.

“Is this it?” I asked, pointing at the less-than-appealing alley.

“I guess.” 

I switched to park, flung off my seatbelt, and tossed her the keys.

“Come on, then. Time to loosen up.”

-

It was the right place. The door swung open to a creaky set of stairs, low neon lighting, and stale air. I could hear the hum of people talking, but it didn’t sound like a raucous party.

Walking into the dim space, Lexie pulled me aside. 

“He’s near your height, skinny, Asian, probably wearing a tire-fire of an outfit but making it work. You’ll think he’s the hottest guy here, so it shouldn’t be too hard to spot him.” She pinched my arm. “Go.”

Giving the room a cursory glance, I didn’t see anyone else I knew. I didn’t want to talk to Lexie, but she didn’t even give me that option, instantly splitting to run, giggling, towards the table of her current friends. None of them invited me to join, too engrossed in screaming in celebration of Lex’s arrival. This night was fucked. Her and parties were a bad combo on a good night, but as it stood - already bad - it was only going to get worse. 

I should have just driven her home. But her comment had struck a nerve, and I hoped that I could feel like I was in college again, like I could be spontaneous and mysterious.

I felt the opposite.

The basement was surprisingly large; it looked like it had been part of a restaurant before being turned into lodging. I walked around aimlessly. No one seemed interesting, and no one was interested in me. A few minutes of loitering passed before I saw the guy she’d been talking about. 

It was an accurate description; I noticed him first because of his large bucket hat and bright orange patterned shirt, but he had beautiful dark eyes and a lean frame that made me wish he was wearing tighter clothes. Decidedly the best looking guy at the party, and maybe at college this year.

I threw caution - and frankly, boredom - to the wind and walked up to him. He was alone, occupied only by his phone.

If my hair weren’t curly, I’d run my hand through it, but I settled for putting it behind my ear, trying to achieve that effortless flirt that other girls do.

“Hey,” I started. “I’m one of Lexie’s friends. She said you went to Marble Hill? I’m Erin, I’m an alum. I was an art major too.”

Without really looking up from his phone, he grabbed and shook my hand, giving one of those half-assed scrunch smiles that usually only white people do.

“Hi. Nice.” His phone buzzed. “Aw, shit, I forgot to feed my tamagotchi -”

He let go to tap insistently on the phone screen and turned away. 

I stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, left standing by myself in the literal middle of the room. My mouth hung open a little, so I closed it and looked around. From the looks of it, everyone was too busy playing foosball or making out to have noticed my embarrassment.

I quickly crossed the room and sat on the only empty couch, hoping to avoid any unwanted attention. I closed my eyes, trying to regain a sense of internal balance after a night of constant disappointment. I rubbed my forehead, easing away the migraine that had been living behind my sinuses ever since the concert. I was hunkered there long enough to take some deep breaths to keep myself from screaming, then to get myself all the way calm.

I felt a sudden shift as someone sat on the couch beside me. And I mean beside me; they didn’t sit on the other end to relax or have a conversation with someone else, they deliberately sat next to me. I could feel their body heat, not touching me but certainly in my personal space. 

Just as I was about to turn to face them, they spoke in a smooth, calm voice. 

“You okay?”

I took my hand from my temple and immediately met their eyes. I was looking straight at the prettiest man I’d ever seen; I stared blankly for a moment, forgetting words. If I'd thought that bucket hat boy was the hottest guy at college, I was sure that the man in front of me was number one in the world.

“You don’t look like you’re having the best time,” he said.

“Uh, hi,” I managed. “Yeah, thanks, just have a headache.”

“Sorry to hear. And sorry I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Tenshi, I’m friends with the guy you just hit on.” He grinned deviously, obviously thinking my total rejection was funny.

I grimaced.

“You saw that?”

“Yup. Saw him ignore you, too. Don’t mind him, he’s had a long night. Stupid of him to brush you off though.” He leaned back in his seat, turning to place his arm on the back of the couch - and behind my head. 

I could feel my temperature go up. His eyes were so intense, and it made me hyper aware that they were fixed on me.

“But you’re smarter than that, huh?”

I knew he was flirting with me, it was obvious. I’m not the type to play coy. And while on another day I’d have been more nervous around someone this beautiful, I’d been through so much tonight that I didn’t have anxiety to spare for talking to him. 

“I like to think so,” he replied. “You didn’t introduce yourself yet.”

He was right.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Erin. You know Lexie? She dragged me here.”

He chuckled, waving a hand dismissively.

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone at Marble Hill doesn’t know who she is. We’re in a couple classes together. She’s, uh, got a lot of personality.”

“You go to MHU? I went there too. Got my bachelor’s, not that it’s gotten Me much. How long have you been attending?” I smiled faintly, looking him over. He was slim and fit, with shoulder-length hair and an angelic face. I decided that I was right - he was the hottest man in the world. “I definitely think I’d have noticed you on campus.”

“No, you must have graduated before my time. I transferred from a college in California. I got my bachelor’s, and then I moved here for my master’s. I’ve only been here for a few months, but so many people have been welcoming.” 

His accent was so cute - wow, his lips were so full and shiny - his hair was all tousled - I got a bit distracted taking it all in when I was snapped back to reality by his voice.

“Badge of honor from the concert?”

He was pointing at my top.

I’d forgotten about the stain, and looked down at it, adjusting the shirt self-consciously. 

“Yeah, some asshole dumped his entire drink on me. Didn’t even apologize.”

“I’d offer you a jacket or something, but I didn’t actually bring one.”

“Oh, thanks, but it’s fine. You should see the other guy,” I joked.

He laughed, genuinely, his smile nearly lighting up the dark corner.

“There’s a bodega up the street that sells college t-shirts, it’s still open. I’ll buy you a new shirt, if you want.”

My eyebrows shot up, shocked at the offer. 

“I couldn’t! It’s fine, really, I’ll just change when I get home.”

He put his hand on the seat of the couch between us.

“I hate to get involved in drama,” he said, voice low, “but I’m not sure you’ll be able to get there. I saw her abandon you at the door, so I went to ask about you.” He gestured over his shoulder in the direction of the entrance where Lexie had ditched me. “She said you were her ride? I’ve seen her at parties. I’m guessing you have too. And she’s going particularly hard tonight. At this rate, she’s gonna be too drunk to even go home. Unless you plan to drag her up the stairs?”

I looked around the room at the crappy party, settling on Lexie as she played beer pong. At that moment, she downed another glass. Her other friends cheered her on.

“Bet you a twenty that she falls asleep here,” I sighed, wishing I’d just brought my own car. But right now I was dependent on an undependable person.

“All the more reason to bail, right?” He looked hopeful, wide eyes shining.

It smelled like cheap weed down here, and I was sick of waiting on Lexie to act like an adult - or my friend. She had her classmate friends to take care of her; she’d go home on her own in the morning. As for me, I had no idea where I would go, but I was ready for any excuse to get out of the increasingly claustrophobic basement. The invitation of a beautiful boy was as good a reason as any.

“Sure, okay. But I’m buying the shirt.”

He smiled. 

“Deal.”

I stood up, straightening myself and starting for the door. I didn’t want to stay any longer than I had to. 

As I came into the main room, I stopped unconsciously to look at a loud group of students, talking around a hunched form. Lexie’s head appeared above the pool table for a second, then swung down again, clearly threatening to puke already. The others laughed and scolded as she tried to keep her liquor down. 

I heard his footsteps going up the stairs and turned away from the scene. He waited at the top of the steps, hand on the doorknob, watching me.

"I think you need to have a talk with her tomorrow, " he mused as I climbed the stairs.

I sighed.

“I know.”

He opened the door, a cool wind rushing in. The pounding in my head began to slow. 

“Hey,” he said calmly. “That’s for tomorrow. There’s still time for tonight.” 

He stretched out his hand, encouraging me to go before him. I looked up at him, almost silhouetted in the door frame, and forgot to breathe. It felt like something big was going to happen.

Surprising myself, and him, I grabbed his hand as I climbed the last few steps, letting go when I reached the top. 

He stepped outside, closing the door behind him and leaving us in a blissful quiet. We let it stay for a minute; I could feel his presence behind me, but he didn’t speak. 

Finally, I turned.

“Please get me out of here.”

-

We chatted easily on the short walk to the corner store. He was stunning; the yellow light of the street lamps turned his caramel-colored hair gold, making him look even more like a renaissance angel than he already did.

“So, are you an art major?” I asked.

He looked at me, eyebrows raised.

“No, why?”

I blinked, surprised that my guess was incorrect.    
“Oh, I just thought - your friend is an art major, so I thought maybe that’s how you knew him.”

He laughed, the sound bouncing through the empty street. 

“No, no." He waved his hand. "We’re friends ‘cause we’re both Asian. There’s not a lot of us on campus so we all end up knowing each other.”

“Aw, damn. Art majors are totally my type.”

He cocked an eyebrow.

“So I’m not your type?”

I met his eyes, biting my lip playfully.

“I’ll make an exception this time.” 

He put a hand to his chest, bowing noncommittally. 

“I’m flattered.”

I giggled.

“Am I your type?” I didn’t know where the absolute boldness came from, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“I’m going to be That Person and say I don’t have a type, but I know that’s not a satisfactory answer. My taste is all over the place, and I really do think everyone had their own beauty, but I tend to like women shorter than me -" he paused to look down, making the most of the few inches he had on me, "- so, check. I like independent, down-to-earth vibes, so another check. And I'm just gonna say it, I'm a boobs man," we both burst out laughing at that, hand covering my mouth as a tinge of embarrassment hit, "and clearly you deliver on that front. So yeah, it tracks." 

He looked straight ahead, a small smile on his lips, cheeks flushed. I decided that it was from the admission and not from the chilly air.

“Ah,” he pointed ahead, obviously relieved to be moving on from the conversation, “Here we are!”

He crossed the street, and I trailed after him, entering as he held open the door. 

Fluorescents lit up the small space, showing off aisles of snacks and drinks… as well as a wall of racks, marked ‘Shirts’. It was bare.

We looked up at the empty shelves, and Tenshi started walking around the store to see if they were somewhere else. 

“It says ‘Shirts’, I think if they had any they’d be here.”

He gave up, shrugging at me before going to the counter.

“‘Scuse me, don’t you usually have university t-shirts here? Like, for tourists and stuff?“

“Yeah,” said the clerk with a glare, “and for every football maniac. It was the first home game today, man, they’re cleared out. Same with every other store.”

He turned to me, an exaggerated grimace on his face.

“My rescue mission has failed.” he rubbed the back of his head. “I didn’t even realize there’d been a game,” he laughed, and I cracked up.

“I didn’t know I could care less about football than I did while I was a student, but apparently I have reached new heights of forgetting its existence.”

“I’m glad you said that. The only sport I ever cared about was soccer, and I’m way too busy to pay attention to it now.”

“I don’t understand sports, and at this point I’m too afraid to ask.”

I wandered to the ice cream cooler.

“We could make the trip worthwhile,” I suggested, waving my hands over it like I was showing off the board in Wheel of Fortune. He smiled, radiant, and slid open the lid. 

“What do you want? I said there’d be shirts and there weren’t, so it’s on me.”

“Yay! I’m not gonna fight that. I’ll take a bomb pop.”

He fished around, pulling out a bomb pop and a drumstick. 

“‘Kay, I’ll pay for these. Can you pick a table?”

He went up to the counter, and I took the time to check him out unnoticed. He had a really nice shape; the lean physique of a dancer, with broad shoulders and strong, shapely legs. Even from the back he was beautiful. 

As soon as the clerk handed his card back, I turned around, walking towards the booths by the window. 

He came up behind me as I approached the tables, handing me my ice cream.

I thanked him, gesturing to the corner booth.

“Soooo... “ I chose a side of the booth and sat, leaning my elbows onto the table. “You asked Lexie about me?” I tore open the package, pulling out the popsicle.

“I mean, yeah. I did kind of feel bad when I saw her just dump you at the door, not gonna lie.” He sat down across from me. “I know enough about her to know that she wasn’t about to make you feel at home. That and the ruined shirt, I knew you weren’t having a good night.” The wrapper crinkled as he opened it.

“So you’re what? A good Samaritan?” I felt a little snubbed - of course I was a charity case. What else could it be? The most beautiful man in the world genuinely wanted to hit on me?

He shook his head, looking down to pick at the chipped tabletop.   
“Honestly? I’ve been so bored since I came here. School is good, it’s not that, but nothing’s… pushed me? Captivated me? Everyone is nice, but no one is actually interesting.” His eyes flicked up again suddenly, meeting mine with that absolute intensity. “I’m not gonna be passive about it, you’re attractive.” He didn’t look away. I gulped. “I mean that in both senses. Yes, you’re hot, but you also seem like there’s a lot going on in your head. Makes me want to find out what.”

I went to speak, but nothing came out. I cleared my throat, trying to keep my composure.

“...Ah, an intellectual,” I managed.

He chuckled, finally breaking eye contact.

“I’m not interested in shallow people. I like people who are strongly themselves, who seem to have a complex inner world. It sounds pretentious, yeah, but I genuinely just don’t vibe with people who look good but don’t think about anything other than what they’re wearing tomorrow.”

I felt something cold on my skin and remembered the bomb pop, which was now melting onto my hand.

“Well, you said you like down-to-earth people.” I paused to lick up the liquid that was dripping down my fingers. “I lost all ego when I graduated. Top of my classes, my teachers loved my work, I was even written up in the school paper as the most promising art student. And then I was completely unable to get a job. No one wanted my work outside of the school, and I couldn’t afford to keep attending. I couldn’t get shows, commissions, not even internships. I felt like a total failure.”

I sucked on the popsicle, taking it out with a pop. 

“Correction: I  _ feel _ like a total failure. I have a studio apartment full of half-finished sculptures and I work at Home Depot to pay off enough of my student loans to hopefully be able to… I don’t know. Maybe I want to move, since there’s no work for me here. Maybe I want to go back and get my master’s. It’ll be so long till I have enough money for either, I can wait to figure it out. Time is the only luxury I have.” I sucked so hard on the bomb pop that the top two sections broke off in my mouth. 

“So you could say I’m really down-to-earth now," I said around the rest of the popsicle.

I didn’t know why I just dumped all that on him, or why I didn’t stop myself. Oversharing wasn’t typical for me. 

He was quiet; his ears were red for some reason, but I had other things on my mind. I was just hoping he wouldn’t lose interest now that he knew I was a loser. His eyes were wide, taking me in with a kind look. 

I couldn’t stand the pity, so I crunched the rest of the bomb pop and pulled out my phone, checking to see if Lexie had noticed my absence. 

He didn’t say anything, returning to his ice cream as I looked at the empty notification bar. The silence was broken by a slow slurp.

My eyes slid away from my phone screen, lingering on his mouth wrapped around the cone, then his tongue slowly dragging along the side of it, catching the drips. My mouth went dry.

What was  _ happening _ ? I wasn’t usually like this, but Tenshi had found me with my defenses down, and I couldn't bring myself to put them up for him. He was hypnotically attractive, from the way the side of his mouth curled when he smirked to his clean, sharp cedar scent. And he felt… comfortable. I was at ease with him, and I didn’t feel that way with almost anyone. 

He licked his lips, and the back of my neck suddenly felt hot. 

I was dazed. He caught me staring. I felt my cheeks go red. 

I instantly looked back at my phone, tapping at nothing, but I saw him hold back a smile. 

He finished his ice cream, but didn’t leave the table. He clutched the wrapper in his hands, turning it over distractedly. 

It was done.

I didn’t want it to end, but there was nothing keeping us together. Our excuses to spend time together had run out. 

We sat in silence, seconds spent avoiding each other’s eyes, feeling awkward for the first time of the night. I could hear the clock on the wall tick.

"So what now? Do we go back to the party?” I blurted. I made a face, showing how appealing the idea was.

"Weeeell," he pursed his lips in thought, “I did promise you a shirt.”

I leaned forward, propping my chin in my hand.

“And?”

There was a pause, and a look, the slightest narrowing of the eye.

“I mean this in the most innocent possible way, but I - I do live around here. You could borrow one of mine.” Ignoring the fact that they’d never fit me, he continued. “I know we’re basically strangers, but I know Lexie at parties - I saw how she treated you. She’s not about to remember that you’re dependent on her. You don’t have anywhere else to go.”

His gaze bored into me.

“You could stay at my apartment.”

I swallowed, not sure what to do. I knew what could happen if I went. What would probably happen. But I also knew that he wouldn’t force it, that it came to me to make that move. And I knew I was a coward who’d probably chicken out of it.

I studied him for a minute, looking over his intense expression, the small crease in his brow. He was asking me if I was up for it.

And I decided to take a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks for reading the first chapter of Secret Ties! Don't worry, next chapter will have smut ;)  
> You can also read this story on Wattpad:  
> https://www.wattpad.com/story/252838387-secret-ties
> 
> I hope you're as interested to see how Erin and Tenshi's relationship progresses as I am!  
> Love,  
> Kailey


End file.
